IRONMAN Lake Tahoe

Race among the towering Sierras in this Northern Californian mountain town.

If you're looking for the ultimate IRONMAN challenge, Lake Tahoe is the race for you. In Europe, there’s IRONMAN France, with 5,000 feet of climbing through the Alps and IRONMAN Lanzarote, with two mountain climbs and incredible winds. In Asia there’s IRONMAN Malaysia featuring the highest recorded temperatures at an IRONMAN race. North America now has its own race where normal limits do not apply: IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 Lake Tahoe. (Visit our Destination: Lake Tahoe page for more information on enjoying your stay.)

With nearly 6,000 feet of climbing on the bike course, added to the challenges of a 2.4-mile swim and marathon, IRONMAN Lake Tahoe is arguably the world’s toughest course. Complete all of that at 6,000 feet of altitude, and you'll join a select group of IRONMAN finishers.

Race morning starts at the Kings Beach State Recreation Area, where sandy shores deliver athletes to the clean, clear waters of North Lake Tahoe. A lakeside transition and the start of the bike course bring riders along the shore with spectacular views down the 21-mile length of the Lake as riders enter Tahoe City. Cyclists race through the Truckee River corridor, following the Truckee River past Squaw Valley and into the town of Truckee. Here the course turns south back toward the lake, rolling past Northstar California and the start of the climb to Brockway Summit at a 7,200-foot elevation.

Back at Kings Beach, athletes repeat another loop before finishing at Squaw Valley, home of the 1960 Winter Olympics. With a transition at Squaw Valley, runners will proceed back up the Truckee River corridor along the Truckee River bike path. Athletes will be treated to a relatively flat course along one of the most scenic pathways in the world before returning back to Squaw Village's satisfying finish line.IRONMAN Lake Tahoe offers 50 qualifying slots for the 2016 IRONMAN World Championship in Kailua-Kona, HI.